The Ownership Society
It is interesting how things tend to work. At a time when we are undergoing "The Great Reset" as outlined by the World Economic Council, we see something different simultaneously taking place.
For those unaware, the Great Reset is the idea that, by around 2030, people will own nothing. Instead, it will be a situation where people use what they need but the ownership is not theirs.
This is causing debate within political circles. That discussion is outside the scope of this article. However, there is one area where humanity, at least those online, already lived in this world. When it comes to our "Internet Lives", there is little ownership.
It is a situation that got worse over the last decade as platforms such as Uber and Airbnb bridged the online world with our physical realm. Suddenly, taxis and hotels were under attack from this new business model.
While these companies, along with others, enjoyed success, there was a downside. It helped to foster more income inequality. This is simply due to the nature of how these platforms operate.
The "S-Curve" is a rather well known model of how technological adoption takes place. If we label a generic curve to represent the business models of the companies we are referring to, this is what we see.
This represents Facebook, Airbnb, Uber, and a host of other platforms that followed the same path.
Basically, what happens in the early stages is companies give away their service for free (or for a nominal cost). These days are focused upon the user experience whereby even more growth is attained. Of course, we must keep in mind that often there is a large amount of venture capital put up to fund the development and growth.
Eventually, the network effect takes over and these companies start to penetrate the markets they are focused upon. This leads to a clash between the users of the system and the investors. There comes a point where the investors, or Wall Street, wants to be paid. Thus, the user experience is pushed to the back burner for the sake of profitability.
Here is where the attraction stage that existed early on becomes the extraction as the investors pull more money out of the system.
Again, we see this across most of the application models over the last decade or two.
What is key here is the network effect, which is a very powerful force, ends up benefiting the extractors, not those who were attracted to the system.
https://hackernoon.com/hn-images/02ajFzFJpInPO7VEK.jpg
Token economics brings up a completely new model which drastically alters things. This actually turns the ownership debate on its ear. So while we saw people moving away from owning music and dvds, when it comes to online activity, we are heading in the opposite direction.
The Ownership Society is one where users own both their data and the platforms they are operating upon. Our present models hinder the user experience in quest for profits. Here is where we see Facebook placing more ads on its site; Google altering the payouts to content creators; Uber reducing the amount per mile that the drivers get; everyone selling user data.
With tokenization, the owners and users become one. In fact, they are the same. Those who use the platforms are the ones who also have the stake in it. Thus, most decisions are made with the needs of both in mind.
Also, unlike what we presently experience, the network effect stands to benefit the users, who are also the owners, instead of VC funds or Wall Street institutions.
Here is where we can easily see a reversal of the existing income inequality that is in place.
This is not a discussion that is only being held in the cryptocurrency community. There are many futurists and technology-based institutions that are bringing up the same issues. Most are aware that the present model is not sustainable. As we move deeper into our digital world, this will only take on added meaning.
Ultimately, disruption takes place when a better system is found. Over time, as more realize the benefits, along with the technology improving, the split between the two models closes. At some point, the new starts to over power the old.
A couple months ago, I wrote an article discussing how the present social media companies are done. Obviously, they are still very powerful entities. Nevertheless, we can see where things are going.
The tokenization model simply is a much better path to pursue. It is going to overtake the present system because it benefits more people. Sure, there will still be very powerful players but they will have to operate in a different manner.
Over night success if often a process that takes more than a decade. In an era of instant gratification, people do not like to wait. However, most major disruptions are evolutionary in nature.
Just look at the S-Curve again. We are still in the attraction stage. What we are dealing with is novel to most people. In fact, many are not even aware of the problems that exist with the present online platforms. For most, they think things are just fine.
Yet, another reality is emerging. The power these entities wield is nearing absolute. Of course, we all know how power corrupts. This is a problem for every human on the planet who is not in the inner circle of these technology companies.
In a few years, the new model will be simply: only use what you own.
It will be through the usage that one gains an ownership stake. This is how the Ownership Society will work.
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